Constructing a Reminiscence Therapy Model for Nursing Home Residents in Taiwan

Abstract:

Constructing a Reminiscence Therapy Model for Nursing Home Residents in Taiwan

Conference Sponsor:

Sigma Theta Tau International

Conference Year:

2005

Author:

Chao, Shu-Yuan, BS, MEd, DNSc

P.I. Institution Name:

Chang-Gung Institute of Technology

Title:

Vice President of Chang-Gung Institute of Technology

Email:

sychao@mail.cgit.edu.tw

Co-Authors:

Hsing-Yuan Liu, MS, RN; Chaio-Rung Chen, MS, RN

The study applied both group and individual approaches to create a reminiscence therapy model for the elderly in nursing home in Taiwan. The research consisted two stages; the first stage was to conduct a group reminiscence activity for exploring how group reminiscence progressed and why it achieves a therapeutic effect. The therapy activity was held for three months and each session lasting for one hour. A quasi-experimental design was applied to evaluate the effect of the program. The second stage adopted the case study method to explore the process of applying individual reminiscence therapy in the nursing home. The findings from the study were integrated using two different approaches as designed above. Four stages of development of reminiscence therapy were found,including entree, immersion, withdrawal and closure. There were some possible influencing factors were identified on the processing of each stages. . In addition, there were some catalysts were considered to be helpful for inducing the elder's memory.There were themes identified that reflected the essences of the reminiscence. Reminiscence therapy proved to be effective on the resident's emotional status and life satisfaction, and enhance the elder to adapt in a nursing home. The reminiscence could be initiated at anytime of taking care of the residents, in which the trust relationship between the residents and the nursing staff was strengthened as well. This study constructs a tentative model that can be used for further research to verify these findings in order to provide a practical clinical practice model for long term elderly care. .